IS300h - how bad is the CVT gearbox?
Discussion
I went to have a look at a lexus IS300h the other day.
I didn't have time to drive the car while I was there (despite the salesman being very keen to offer me a 24 hour drive) so just sat in it in the car... it was really very nice.
The finance deals on PCP are also very compelling. When I got home I read a load of the reviews and watched some video reviews on Youtube, the distilled summary seems to be "nice car, shame about the gearbox"
I'd be really interested to hear from anyone that has one on how bad (or not) it really is, I'd be trading in a manual 2.0T audi.
my view, having driven neither car, is that the BMW 330e would be more fun to drive, but the PCP are coming out as nearly double a month compared to the lexus.
Thanks in advance.
I didn't have time to drive the car while I was there (despite the salesman being very keen to offer me a 24 hour drive) so just sat in it in the car... it was really very nice.
The finance deals on PCP are also very compelling. When I got home I read a load of the reviews and watched some video reviews on Youtube, the distilled summary seems to be "nice car, shame about the gearbox"
I'd be really interested to hear from anyone that has one on how bad (or not) it really is, I'd be trading in a manual 2.0T audi.
my view, having driven neither car, is that the BMW 330e would be more fun to drive, but the PCP are coming out as nearly double a month compared to the lexus.
Thanks in advance.
The CVT gearbox is fine, just different, not like a normal auto. Once you get used to it, it's perfectly OK. Like any car with an auto box, you need to drive the gearbox as much as the car. You'll get other posters saying that a CVT gearbox is awful, that's their opinion, they are entitled to it. A brief test drive won't be enough, it took me a couple of thousand miles to become accustomed to it and learn how to get the best out of it. There's a new Lexus IS coming out in Feb/March, it looks really nice.
grumpynuts said:
The CVT gearbox is fine, just different, not like a normal auto. Once you get used to it, it's perfectly OK. Like any car with an auto box, you need to drive the gearbox as much as the car. You'll get other posters saying that a CVT gearbox is awful, that's their opinion, they are entitled to it. A brief test drive won't be enough, it took me a couple of thousand miles to become accustomed to it and learn how to get the best out of it. There's a new Lexus IS coming out in Feb/March, it looks really nice.
New IS is simply a faceliftI thought the box was weird at first, as said perfectly fine afterwards.
phatmanace said:
sleepera6 said:
A thread for me!
CVT box is great for town driving, awful on motorways. Give it a bit of poke and it hesitates ever so slightly, before surge.
Good box I say, so refined in town.
why is it bad on the motorways?CVT box is great for town driving, awful on motorways. Give it a bit of poke and it hesitates ever so slightly, before surge.
Good box I say, so refined in town.
grumpynuts said:
There's a new Lexus IS coming out in Feb/March, it looks really nice.
gawping comes to mind
Why the bulbous snout?
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
sleepera6 said:
Compared to all my other cars, the CVT is noisier on motorways, hence I put "bad"
got it, thanks. krisdelta said:
I've driven the older IS300 with the CVT and it was dreadful - lethargic and unpleasant. It wasn't quiet or powerful either so it didn't offer the "wafting" you might associate with a CVT. Recommend you invest in a test drive before signing paperwork.
thanks, I'd definitely do a test drive, I thought I'd post here to see if I got a torrent of 'its awful, don't touch it" - in which case, I probably wouldn't bother. saaby93 said:
grumpynuts said:
There's a new Lexus IS coming out in Feb/March, it looks really nice.
gawping comes to mind
Why the bulbous snout?
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
sleepera6 said:
saaby93 said:
grumpynuts said:
There's a new Lexus IS coming out in Feb/March, it looks really nice.
gawping comes to mind
Why the bulbous snout?
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
How long is the front of that IS300 going to stand up in normal car park ( full of SAABs)
The family car is a 400h with CVT. CVT is not great for hard driving. But, it is perfectly fine for everyday driving situations we spend 90% of our time in.
The gearbox and petrol hybrid combo makes for a very relaxed driving, very quiet, efficient and combines well with the solid Lexus build. It's a high quality product, more so than any of the German brands.
24hr test (or more) is a good idea to try the car in your daily routine to get used to it. If your routine is thrashing around B roads it probably won't suit.
The gearbox and petrol hybrid combo makes for a very relaxed driving, very quiet, efficient and combines well with the solid Lexus build. It's a high quality product, more so than any of the German brands.
24hr test (or more) is a good idea to try the car in your daily routine to get used to it. If your routine is thrashing around B roads it probably won't suit.
saaby93 said:
sleepera6 said:
saaby93 said:
grumpynuts said:
There's a new Lexus IS coming out in Feb/March, it looks really nice.
gawping comes to mind
Why the bulbous snout?
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
How long is the front of that IS300 going to stand up in normal car park ( full of SAABs)
Such a shame that Saab is several generations behind - and went bankrupt! Clearly owners had the smarter idea to move to BMW, Audi, Lexus, MB..
As long as you can understand how a CVT works and how to drive it, you'll be fine.
Around town, you'll be able to cruise along on the electric power. On the motorway, which is really the sort area the IS300h was designed for, you'll find that the CVT will allow the car to settle to some very, very low ratios where it'll tick along at low RPM with a very small throttle openings. Excellent for fuel economy, range and NVH.
They don't slur their way through a series of changes or increase the engine RPM in a linear fashion under high throttle demand. The CVT picks the optimum point to set the revs at and holds it as you increase speed. When you reach your chosen speed, lifting the pressure on the throttle will lengthen the ratio right out. I think this is the only time a CVT is unpleasantly intrusive, but not by a great deal. They aren't as noisy as people make them out to be.
CVT'S don't suit sporty cars as they feel like the car has one long, elastic gear, so whilst they're effective they remove some of the typical se sensations that make that sort of driving satisfying. For refined, comfortable everyday transport, I'm surprised we don't see more of them. The British public isn't used to them in the way the Americans and Japanese markets are. They're also considerably lighter and more reliable than torque converter 'boxes too, so I definitely think we'll be seeing more in future. They are certainly worth trying out.
Around town, you'll be able to cruise along on the electric power. On the motorway, which is really the sort area the IS300h was designed for, you'll find that the CVT will allow the car to settle to some very, very low ratios where it'll tick along at low RPM with a very small throttle openings. Excellent for fuel economy, range and NVH.
They don't slur their way through a series of changes or increase the engine RPM in a linear fashion under high throttle demand. The CVT picks the optimum point to set the revs at and holds it as you increase speed. When you reach your chosen speed, lifting the pressure on the throttle will lengthen the ratio right out. I think this is the only time a CVT is unpleasantly intrusive, but not by a great deal. They aren't as noisy as people make them out to be.
CVT'S don't suit sporty cars as they feel like the car has one long, elastic gear, so whilst they're effective they remove some of the typical se sensations that make that sort of driving satisfying. For refined, comfortable everyday transport, I'm surprised we don't see more of them. The British public isn't used to them in the way the Americans and Japanese markets are. They're also considerably lighter and more reliable than torque converter 'boxes too, so I definitely think we'll be seeing more in future. They are certainly worth trying out.
I'd stay well away from CVT.
I had it on my 2008 Audi A5 front wheel drive 3.2 coupé. I never really got a good feel for it. There was a horrible lag in it, and it felt like one continuous gear like I was driving a small boat or something (as in it didnt go up the revs, change gear and revs drop then revs build up again and change gear etc. like a normal car). It did have a manual mode where it would create 8 artifical gears, but it wasn't a great experience.
Maybe they've improved 10 years on, but I personally wouldn't go near it again.
Dual clutch automated manual (e.g. DSG, MCT, DCT, S-tronic, whatever the manufacturer calls theirs) is the future IMO, even if they do roll back at the traffic lights on a hill.
I had it on my 2008 Audi A5 front wheel drive 3.2 coupé. I never really got a good feel for it. There was a horrible lag in it, and it felt like one continuous gear like I was driving a small boat or something (as in it didnt go up the revs, change gear and revs drop then revs build up again and change gear etc. like a normal car). It did have a manual mode where it would create 8 artifical gears, but it wasn't a great experience.
Maybe they've improved 10 years on, but I personally wouldn't go near it again.
Dual clutch automated manual (e.g. DSG, MCT, DCT, S-tronic, whatever the manufacturer calls theirs) is the future IMO, even if they do roll back at the traffic lights on a hill.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff